Travel 2013 - My First Year in Mexico

Every year I do a year-in-review of my travels; mostly it's to remind me where I've been, but it also serves as a personal wrap-up photo album of my favorite travel photos from the year.

New Year's Eve 2012-2013: New Orleans, my favorite city in the world. There's the live music at Fritzel's, the great food (Restaurant August, Emeril's, New Orlean's Bistro), and the history. I even caught the Sugar Bowl parade! New Orleans is the city I always go back to when I can, and I can't wait to go again for Jazz Fest this year!

March 2013: For the first week of Semana Santa I was off to Merida for the second time! This time, the trip included a tour of the Yucatan to the pyramids of Uxmal and Kabah, and a trip to Celestun to see the flamingos. Despite the clouds and occasional rain, the sites were amazing and Merida was as laid back and fun as usual: I rode bikes on their Sunday Paseo, ate Panuchas and Cocinita Pibil, and got lots of sun and rest.

April 2013: For the second week of Semana Santa, it was time to explore Oaxaca in the South of Mexico. Oaxaca was full of great food and great shopping. I got to take a cooking class (where I cooked with agave worms, crickets, squash blossoms and local ingredients from the market), visit ruins at Monte Alban and elsewhere in the state, and dipped my toes in the natural mineral springs at Hievere de Agua.

Ceviche made by my cooking class

The Semana Santa trip ended with a two-day trip to Mexico City (just so I could try the food at Pujol, one of the top ten restaurants in the world); which led to the discovery of some surprising treasures, like the gorgeous deco Palace de Beaux Artes below and some amazing Diego Rivera murals.

June 2013: A week in Baltimore and a trip to Hershey Park with my second-family was a nice break after a long school year.  Then it was off to Florida for a few days to prepare for my European tour.

July 2013:  A flight to London and two weeks in England seeing dear friends and touring around places like:

Belton House:

Skeggness:

Tattershall Castle:

Birmingham & London:

My drink at VOC in London came with a six-shooter cap gun 

Then there was a quick ride on the chunnel to the the chaos of Paris:

and a day's escape from Paris to Chantilly.

From Paris there was a 12-hour, several train ride to the Cinque Terre in Italy (one of my favorite places on Earth) for nearly a week of eating Italian seafood dishes and exploring the coastal towns of Linguaria.

From the Cinque Terre another multi-train journey (and one sprint from train-to-train in Milan) took me to Venice.

From Venice, a vaporetti took my friend and I to Murano:

and Burano:

Then a ferry boat took us to Croatia, where we met up with another colleague and her friend and spent a week relaxing by the sea and exploring the old towns of Porec and Rovinj.

It was back to school time in August, but it wasn't too long before it was time to travel again...

In September, two friends and I went back to Merida for Mexican Independence Day (I even stayed up for the fireworks this time!).

October 2013: a shopping weekend in Guadalajara led to a great find: the Mile-long market at Tonala!

 

In November, a cheap flight to Chiapas (in the South of Mexico) lead to a great four-day vacation in San Cristobal des las Casas, though it was cold and gray. Thanksgiving was spent with a large group of friends at an Argentinian Steak House.

From San Cristobal, a friend and I took an all-day tour of two waterfalls (Misol-Ha and Agua Azul) and the ruins of Palenque.

Finally, it was off to America for Christmas and New Year. A few days on the beach and a few days in the cold with family and friends was a great way to wrap-up my first full-year living in Mexico.

England is more than just London

The first leg of my amazing month-long trip across Europe was to catch up with friends in England. I was in England for two weeks and had an amazing time touring about.

I spent the first week in Lincolnshire, a farming county a few hours North of London. Whilst there, I visited Belton House, a National Trust property, twice. The first visit was more to see the house - the paintings, the blue bedroom that was Darcy's bedroom in the infamous Colin Firth BBC Pride and Prejudice, and I even took the downstairs tour (where they sadly did not allow photographs) of the maid's quarters, kitchens, china rooms, wine cellar, etc. There were signs up for a food fayre the following weekend, so my friend and I decided to return and check it out.

a gloomy day at Belton House

The food fayre fell on a particularly gorgeous day - all sunshine and cool breezes. On display was not only excellent food (my first Bap - roasted pork, heavy on the cracklin', served on a bun with stuffing and apple chutney), but a good dose of British humor as well.

Belvoir, pronounced "Beaver" is a local village near to Belton;
the meat pies mentioned here are presumably from Belvoir,
not made of actual beaver.

Also, no actual penguins were harmed in making the Penguin Pie.
The deer pies, however, were deer and they were DELICIOUS.

Because it was such a gorgeous day, we were able to take a walk around the lake on the property (a woody mile with ducks and geese and rabbity-babbities) and take some great photographs of the property - particularly the Orangery (which I didn't know, is a fancy greenhouse).

The newly restored boat house

"Hello, I'm Lady Belton, and this is my Orangery."

From Lincolnshire, there was also a day trip to the English seaside at Skegness (Skeggy/Skeg-Vegas) on a day that was not so sunshiny and bright. There were donkeys on the beach (I really wanted to ride a donkey on the beach, but it was 'children only') and the fish and chips really did taste better there at the seaside - accompanied by the best mushy peas I've ever eaten!

On the way back from Skeggy, we called at Tattershall Castle - the only brick castle in England which actually, in a round-about way, has ties to Baltimore. Sadly, the castle was closed to visitors so I could only admire its splendor from afar.

After an overnight in Birmingham to visit one of my favorite teacher friends and have a curry, it was time to head off to London for a very cultural adventure. In London I:

visited the Victoria & Albert Museum

drank a cocktail that was served with a six-shooter cap gun at the V.O.C.

visited the Natural History Museum

sat next to Fergus Henderson at St. John's Restaurant (I was too nervous to say hello)

saw Macbeth at the Globe with my favorite lady on the planet (and fellow English teacher) T!

 

saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the West End a week after its premiere

got to look at St. Pancras Station every day

walked across the Millennium Bridge

visited the Tate Modern

sang "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" outside St. Paul's Cathedral (quietishly, to myself)

had a fabulous time!

After a few days kicking around London, I boarded the Eurostar for Paris where, if nothing else, it was warmer.

Year 4 - The Final Countdown 2011-2012

This was the year of the job hunt, and subsequently it was the year of carefully budgeting my travel in case job hunting didn't go as well as I hoped (the end result of the job hunt seems spectacular and I can't wait to start my new life in Mexico!).

Because there was a self-imposed budget crunch, as well as fewer school holidays than usual, I didn't travel far. That's ok, though. Not traveling far, I still traveled well!

In the fall I went to Luxor for the second time with a group of friends and next it was off to London and Lincolnshire for Christmas. In February there was a surprise (an awesome surprise!) trip home to Baltimore to work out visa paperwork (where I got to see all of my favorite people in Baltimore at one table in my old neighborhood); and in Spring there were trips to Petra (so living the Indiana Jones lifestyle!), Istanbul, and Aswan.

Life in Cairo has been good, adventuring in and around (and further afield) from Cairo has been incredible. There are so many memories. I hope you have enjoyed this 'four years of travel in pictures.' I realize it's a bit like going to someone's house and hearing them say "Hon, get out the slide projector and show them how great our cruise to the Bahamas was!"which always inspires a sense of dread. But seriously, this retrospective is for me. My memory is terrible, and I want to be able to remember how amazing adventuring these four years has been. Because adventuring is amazing!

Luxor, Egypt

London, UK

Petra, Wadi Rum, Jordan

Istanbul, Turkey

Aswan, Egypt

Abu Simbel, Egypt

Year 3 - 2010 - 2011

Year three in Cairo was the year of the revolution. I had many amazing adventures that year but, when I think of January 2011 and all that followed, I forget about all of the great trips that happened in the fall; so it's nice to look back on them now.

The year even started off with an air of instability, and the school year started later than planned, which led to an impromptu trip to Aswan for the Eid el Fitr.

There were also Greece Day in Greece, Eid el Adha in Cyprus, Christmas in the UK, Hogmany in Edinburgh, and Easter in Italy - again, all incredible adventures (full of tasty deliciousness - so much good food...)!

I had booked a trip to Disney World for my February holidays long before we knew anything of what was to come in Cairo, and ended up with two weeks in Florida instead of one. I watched Mubarak's topple from power on a hotel TV at the Disney Riverside resort as I prepared to go out to dinner among the burnt-red masses of tourists. It was all very surreal. I lost my camera on the flight back to Cairo and have no photos of my own from that trip.

And now, just a week before I leave my life in Cairo behind, it's all so very strange to look back on the amazing and difficult year of 'character building' that was my third year in Egypt.

Aswan, Egypt

 

Athens, Greece

 

Hydra, Greece

 

 

Cyprus (Greek Side)

 

 

Lincoln, UK

 

 

Edinburgh, UK 

 

 

Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt (April 2011)

 

 

Rome, Italy

 

 

Sorrento, Italy

 

 

Pompeii, Italy

Happy Holidays from the East Midlands!

Just wanted to take a break from catching up on my favorite British teevee shows (Relocation, Relocation; Come Dine with Me; and Midsommer Murders) to wish everyone a Happy Holiday!

England is un-seasonably warm and as welcoming as ever. I've been stuffed full of meat pies, stuffed gamon, game meats, stilton cheese, fish and chips, brussels, and good wine. I have been very well-fed by my hosts and tonight will return the favor by making Baltimore-style hot crab dip and bok choy to go with the cheese and fruit platters. numnumnum. (I know bok choy does not go with any of this, but it was available at the Tesco and I love green veg and can't often get bok choy in Cairo!)

Last week, I got to see Wicked on the West End in London - which was positively amazing. In London theatres, wine and beer vendors circulate the auditorium during the intermission and you can buy ice cream and take it back to your seats - a complete surprise as I'm used to having to suck-down my Shirley Temple in the break because you can't take food or drinks into the theatre in the U.S.

I also rode the London Eye (from which I took the picture above), shopped on Oxford Street, strolled through St. James's park where I saw giant swans, saw the Royal Cavalry parade, and have been to Nottingham (which was NOTHING like in the movies, even if everything is called 'Robin Hood...' something or other).

Most exciting - at St. John's Restaurant in Smithfield I had a lunch of Wigeon; a duck-like game bird that lives on a diet of mostly fish. The flavor was very rich and unctuous, as was the wonderful brown crab on toast that I had as my starter. I didn't take any pictures - the food wasn't fancy or about presentation - it was just DELICIOUS. The restaurant was a bit out of the way from where I was staying but was totally worth the trip!

Later this week, it's off to Peterborough and then to the 'local' to ring in the new year.

Then back to reality, and on to working off the pies, puddings, and cheeses ...

Next trip: BOSTON!

The Trip of All Trips

This Google Earths image represents the adventure the last week and a half, starting in the lower right hand corner leaving Cairo on Saturday last week and ending in the upper left corner in Edinburgh. The trip began with a plane, moved on to a coach bus, then a ferry, then the coach bus, then a train, and finally a swank VW Bug convertible (top up in the snow).

Regarding the trip: thirteen hours in a coach with 30 people who are three days late to their destinations makes for an interesting story; though to grumble would be to give over to the darkside, so just allow me to say it is an 'adventure' I wouldn't recommend and allow me to add that people need to be GRATEFUL we got hotel and 3 square a day rather than spending the night on the airport terminal floor. (AND be grateful we got to our destination at all as many of my friends in Cairo did not). None-the-less, the airport woes have yielded the following new experiences:

1. A trip through the snowy French countryside
2. Undamaged luggage
3. My first crossing of the English Channel
4. My first glimpse of the White Cliffs of Dover
5. An extra stamp in my passport! :)

After a lovely Christmas in Lincolnshire, I am now preparing for a day exploring Edinburgh in advance of Hogmanay.

The five hour drive to Edinburgh from Sleaford yesterday was beautiful, if not drizzly and gray. Field after field of snow dotted with sheep, castles, cottages, and horsies kept me well entertained. We drove past such literary places as the castle where Harry Potter is filmed, Gosford Park, Sherwood Forest (in Nottinghamshire, in Robin Hood County), and Barton Park. Now for some haggis and plaid!